HI JOE!!!!
I love you.
...
What, too soon?
So, this one's to you buddy! You have some questions, I have some answers.
First off, I'd like to set the background a little. You should at least have in mind some of the core beliefs of our very own Mr. Dr. Pompous Ph.D, and with his background of thinking, Uzzah's tragic fate might make a bit more sense.
Well, before I do that, I'd also love to say that I am not coming to you in anger or argumentativeness. Conversely, I am proud of you for being honest about these questions you have. I'm proud of you for being honest about the fact that it makes you angry. Many people in that position might just ignore their doubts and troubles, and then after a while they harbor so many, that they give up and leave the faith completely. This is good! Keep it up! Tell people when you doubt things! It's good!
OK, so a little while back, R. C. Sproul said that by far the most important thing for anyone to know is who God really is. Teaching non believers who God is is the most important thing we can do for them. Teaching believers who God is is the best way we can aid them to grow in faith. Almost every religious problem in our society today stems from the sheer lack of understanding of God that our society reeks of.
Especially for understanding these difficult stories, it is of utmost importance that we realize his power and majesty. God created the entire universe with words. He created man in His image with breath and dust. And man almost immediately disobeyed him, and was filled with the depravity of sin.
Now, I know you know all of this, but this is what I wish to emphasize. Every man who has ever existed deserves an eternal hellfire simply for that disobedience. Even by committing a single transgression that most people would consider insignificant, we are profaning the holy law of a God who is INFINITELY GOOD, and INFINITELY POWERFUL. By pitting our mortal will against the will of our holy Father, even in a minuscule way, we deserve an eternal death.
Do you understand the gravity of this? Even the smallest sin you could ever make deserves Hell, because it is a profanity against a God who is infinitely good and holy. If this makes you angry, then maybe this principle is the real problem. If you struggle with this thought, don't even start with Uzzah.
The next thing ya gotta know, is simply that the respect and reverence one must have for God should be infinite as well. God is so holy and good that he deserves far more respect than we could ever give, no matter how hard we tried.
In the light of these things, it is not hard for me to understand why God did what he did.
Now that all that is out of the way...on to answering your questions.
I'll start with an easier one. "Like why are the Jews allowed to worship an idol (the ark) yet God condemns other idol worship?"
OK, here there is a huge misunderstanding. Dr. Sproul said himself that the ark was but a symbol of God's presence on earth.
There was a room in the temple in those days called the holy of holies. It was basically built to be God's place on earth. Man built the temple, as God directed, and when it was finished, God entered into the holy of holies, and it became glorified by his presence.
The holy of holies was only entered once a year by the high priest, during a festival, as God directed.
However, does all this mean that they worshiped the room?? No...not at all...
They respected this place and even feared it because God was there, glorifying it.
The Ark of the Covenant was no different. Nobody worshiped it. It had no power. They knew that. It was a symbol of God's presence. It was his throne on earth. God was present with it, and it was glorified with his presence. The people worshiped God, and the Ark was a symbol that God was with them.
So, of course the people who made the Ark didn't die on the spot. God glorified the ark after it was complete. Why would God kill off people for making what he wanted them to make? It's not like the Ark had the right to kill people. The Ark didn't kill Uzzah. God did.
Now, about the "arbitrariness" of the rule against touching the Ark... Have you forgotten who God is? Allow me to remind you.
God deserves infinite unrestricted respect and glory for eternity. The Ark, as his throne on earth, was not to be touched. It HAD to command respect of the people, or people would see it as a pretty artifact, not as THE THRONE OF THE ONE ALMIGHTY DEITY. To make this clear, God told the people that anyone who was to touch it would die. That would get my attention.
Uzzah touched it. Can you imagine how much respect God would loose if He did not enforce the rule he himself created?
Think about it like this. God commanded that the Ark would be respected. Touching the Ark was the equivalent to walking up to the Queen of England and backhanding her in the face.
Damn...that too fails to describe it. For that gesture of disrespect which Uzzah committed against an infinitely holy God, instant death is the one and only rightful punishment.
Do you remember when God let Moses see Him? God said that he would walk by Moses with His hand over his eyes, and the let Moses see God's back as he walked past. Do you remember why? Because any living man who sees God's magnificent glory unrestricted would surely die on the spot. He is so magnificent, looking at Him would kill you instantly.
Now your telling me that an artifact that God enters into and that represents His throne on earth, an artifact meant to transcend God's holy presence to earth, that God filled with his own glory, does not deserve to be so respected?
How the hell can that not make sense that this man would die for profaning that magnificence?
The old testament talks so much of the importance of honoring with every fiber of our being that which God has deemed worth honoring. An entire book is spent telling of how Daniel fled for years from the evil king Saul hunted him down. It emphasizes how over and over Daniel refused to lift a finger against Saul, because Saul was the Lord's anointed. Multiple times Daniel could have killed Saul on the spot, but he didn't.
People's opinion of who God is today is terrible. They don't like to think of God as just. But God gave us this story for a reason. He wants us to know that when you blatantly ignore His word and commands, your judgment will be passed without hesitation, and you will be struck down. Uzzah does not deserve compasion. His action was directly in confliction with the infinitely good word of the holy Father, and for any action which conflicts with God's law, we all deserve to be "bitch-slapped to death". And much worse.
Uzzah died for his actions, just like God said he would. And I guarantee the whole rest of the Jewish people were sobered with respect for the power and authority of their God.
It is of utmost import that you realize that when you ignore the law of the one who gives you your every breath, your deserve it taken away, and much more.
